1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a fiber optic connector and connector system or arrangement for coupling focused radiant energy from a laser to a fiber optic conductor.
2. Description of Related Art
The invention provides an improvement to the connector arrangements disclosed in the Inventor's U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,179,610 and 7,090,411, incorporated by reference herein. In the connectors disclosed in the cited patents, radiation that fails to couple with a small core fiber and radiation which couples with higher order propagation modes is absorbed by the connector or surrounding structures. The improvement permits the use of a fiber with full cladding, thereby making the fiber termination more rugged and simplifying manufacturability.